Taylor Petras
tp941310@ohio.edu
Inclusiveness and diversity are a vital part in achieving an
accurate and fair news outlet or organization. It is our duty as journalist to
represent and include our readers or viewers regardless of race, age, gender or
sexual identity. To do so, we must not assume that our audience only consists
of the white-middle-class-straight male.
Inclusive Language
I was taught not to make these assumptions during my job as
a campus tour guide as well. A member of OU’s LGBT Center taught us
about inclusive language. For example, I cannot assume that people accompanying
the prospective students on the tour are their mothers and fathers. They could
be grandparents, aunts and uncles, or not even related to them at all.
Therefore, to make everyone feel included on the tour it is best that I refer
to them as parents or guardians and not as Mom and Dad. Also, I cannot assume
that the students all have the same sexual identity. So, again, to make everyone
feel included on campus, I always point out that Ohio University has
gender-neutral housing. This simply means that everyone living in that
residence hall is open and comfortable with all sexual orientations.
Minorities in the
Media
These same concepts should be applied in the newsrooms.
However, with some progress of accepting different sexual orientations in
society, it seems that the representation in the media has not quite caught up.
Christine Haughney, a writer for The New York Times, just recently wrote an article
about how many news organizations are unwilling to change Private Bradley
Manning’s gender title from a he to a she. I believe many of our news
organizations and their editors are still uncomfortable with representing the
different sexual orientations that are not viewed as the norm in our society.
This applies not just to sexual orientations but to race as
well. I found it very unique and inspiring how Nightline senior producer RichardHarris went out of his way to cover the midnight release of the Harry Potter
book in a town of different races and cultures. As a journalist, it is easy to
get in the mundane habit of going to the same sources for a story. Due to time
constraints and deadlines, going to the same source or professional is
sometimes the easiest thing to do. To achieve an honest and fair representation
of all races and cultures, we must sometimes go out of our way and do a little
extra work to make this happen.
Poor Representation
of the Poor
The media’s misrepresentation of the poor has dated back
over half a century. Starting back in the 1950s the general representation of
the poor people in America was predominately African Americans. However,
research has shown that this representation was false, unfair and did not
accurately portray the different races of the poor population of the time
period. It was interesting to read how society and the media’s
sympathetic moods to the economy and the people affected by it affect who would then
be portrayed in the images across national magazines. The sympathetic moods
would show mostly White Americans in the pictures, whereas the more hostile
stories would portray African Americans.
Photo Courtesy: The Golden Parks Foundation
As professional journalists, it is our responsibility to
leave our stereotypes and subconscious thoughts at the door upon entering the
workplace. We must report accurately and fairly to represent all the different
races, genders and sexual orientations that our society has developed over the
last several decades. We’re not all White, we’re not all straight and we’re
not all living in the middle class suburbs. Our country is a diverse melting
pot of cultures, and it is one that we must embrace. To achieve this diversity it begins with a diverse newsroom. The more representation across cultures and
races telling stories and making decisions together, the better portrayal of
diversity that organization will achieve.
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